Pivoted spring actuated clasp



Dec. 23, 1952 F. MAR ZlANl 2,622,300 7 PIVOTED SPRING ACTUATED CLASP Filed Nov. 17, 1947 INVENTOR I g FRANK MARZIANI, DECEASED BY KATY MARZIANI,ADMINISTRATRIX ATTORNEK Patented Dec. 23, 1952 PIVOTED SPRING ACTUATED CLASP Frank Marziani, deceased, late of Brooklyn, N. Y., by Katy Marziani, administratrix, Brooklyn,

Application November 17, 1947, Serial No. 786,821

The present invention relates to hangers for sheet material and more particularly to spring clamp hangers adapted to suspend blueprints, drawings and other sheet material along vertical wall surfaces.

It is often necessary or desirable to suspend blueprints for examination, drying, display or other purposes. So far as I am aware, there is no simple or satisfactory device for suspending a sheaf of prints or even a single print, except the conventional method of hanging them on a line with clothespins or securing them to a wall with thumb tacks. This arrangement is not adequate to keep the blueprints in proper condition and alignment and makes no provision for holding many more than one blueprint at a time or for quickly adding or removing a blueprint sheet at will. Devices for holding sheets of paper for writing or other purposes are not suitable for the holding of blueprints nor do they make it possible to hold the paper sheets in a vertical position. They do not provide for the handling of sheets of differing sizes and they generally fall far short of the present objectives.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide blueprint hangers which are readily installed and especially designed to hold one or more blueprints or similar sheets in a vertical position.

Another object of the invention resides in providing spring clamp hangers for blueprints and the like, which make each sheet instantly accessible and which are adapted for blueprints of different sizes.

A further object of the invention is to provide blueprint hangers which can be actuated by simple lateral pressure against a portion thereof against spring pressure to permit easy removal and replacement of blueprints and similar sheet material.

Other objects and advantages reside in the various structural features and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of the invention and its manner of use.

Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of an individual hanger.

Fig. 4 is a side view of the hanger shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 illustrates one of the parts of the hanger disassembled from the complete hanger unit.

Fig- 7 is an edge view of Fig. 6 and 1 Claim. (Cl. 24-252) Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but of a modified form of hanger.

The numeral l0 designates a vertical surface of any kind such as a wall, partition, or the like. A support strip of metal or other material ll is fastened to the surface Ill, as by screws l2. Strip H is preferably, although not necessarily, of concave-convex cross-section with the convex side toward the surface H1. The bracket portion of each hanger, one or more of which may be employed, comprises a U-shaped housing l3 having marginal flanges 14 which may be held more firmly in their relative position by means of tie pin [3a. From said marginal flanges are struck out the hooks l5. The hooks cooperate with strip H and act both as guides and supports. clear from Figs. 3 and 4 in particular.

The housing 13 is cut out on its sides in an irregular shape as seen in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, and an inwardly and downwardly extending tongue portion It depends somewhat below such housing.v

A semi-circular seat I! is formed in each side of the cut-out housing edge for a purpose to be explained hereinafter. The upper part of the housing I3 contains a depression 58 which results in the formation of a hump [9 over which one end of helical sprin 26 is adapted to fit. The other end of the spring 26 fits over a similar hump 2! in the upper end of plate member 22, the lower end of which preferably widens out into an extended surface of more or less oval shape. Intermediate its ends, the plate member 22 is provided with ears 23 of concave-convex cross-section with the convex surface facing rearwardly and adapted to be received in seats H, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. An offset portion 24 near the upper end of the plate member ensures proper positioning of hump 2i and affords adequate leverage about ears 23 which act as a fulcrum. The term hanger as used herein includes both housing member 13 and plate member 22.

The hangers are slid into desired position along strip H after being entered over the end of the strip on which they freely slide. The number and relative location of the hangers on strip H may vary depending upon the size of the blueprints 24 or other sheet material. When a sheet of blueprints is to be inserted in the hangers, it is only necessary to exert a moderate amount of pressure against the enlarged lower end of plate member 22. This moves the same rearwardly out of contact with the lower end of tongue l6, leaving a space for the blueprint. The pressure against the plate member causes such member to This relationship will be' fulcrum about ears 23 which rest in seats [1, and this action causes the humped upper end of the plate member to move forwardly and compress sprin 20. When pressure is removed from plate member 22, the reverse action takes place by the expansion of the spring, thus forcing plate member 23 tightly against tongue 16 to hold the sheet material in place. Due to the construction and action of the hangers, a considerable number of sheets of material can be accommodated and instantly inserted or removed by a simple rearward pressure and release of pressure. All sheets are immediately available for examination or display.

The housing member may be somewhat varied in its mounting means and one variation is illustrated in Fig. 8, in which the flanges Ma are provided with keyhole slots 25. In this case, no strip H is required since it is only necessary to provide nails, screws or hooks in surface H). The nail heads pass through the larger parts of the keyhole slots and the hangers then drop until the nail shanks reach the tops of the narrower portions of the slots. This form of invention, therefore, has the advantage that the hangers can be mounted anywhere and no strips need be installed.

Other variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or principle hereof so that the foregoing is to be understood as illustrative only and not as restrictive or limitative. The nature of the sheet material may vary greatly and while the invention is particularly suitable for blueprints, it is to be understood that drawings, photographs, advertisements and may other forms of sheet material can be successfully handled by means of the invention hereindescribed. The hangers singly or in tandem may also, if desired, be used for drying blueprints, films, X-ray negatives, or as a paper file in Office or kitchen, etc.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A sheet material hanger comprising a housing having a front wall and two rearwardly extending flanges, the rear edge of said flanges being adapted for securement to a vertical support, said front wall extending downwardly below the flanges as a depending inwardly arcuated tongue, a tie pin securing together the flanges adjacent their rear ends, said flanges having cut-outs extending upwardly from their bottom edges beginning on a line approximately midway between '4 the outer line of said front wall and the rear edges of said flanges and defining forwardly directed ears on said flanges, said forwardly directed ears each having a rearwardly directed semi-circular recess, said front wall having near its top a rearwardly extending protuberance, a plate member fulcrumed in said housing parallel to and spaced apart from the rear edges on said flanges and having near its top a forwardly extending protuberance substantially axially aligned with the front wall protuberance, a coil spring extending between the front wall and said plate, the ends of said spring encircling said protuberances and normally urging the plate member against said tongue, said plate having integral trunnions located intermediate the ends of said plate member, said trunnions being of substantially concavo-convex cross-section and extending laterally outwardly in the plane of the plate member, the convex side of said trunnions facin rearwardly, and being receivable within the semi-circular recesses of the flanges, said plate above the trunnions being offset rearwardly, said offset portion lying in a plane parallel to the plane of the lower portion of said plate member. KATY MARZIANI. Administratrizc of the Estate of Frank Mariam,

Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Date Number Name 961,626 Maitland June 14, 1910 973,173 C'ome au et al. Oct. 18, 1910 1,143,749 Clarke June 22, 1915 1,208,533 Folger Dec. 12, 1916 1,266,962 Lawlor May 21, 1918 1,486,153v Milligan Mar; 11, 1924 1,543,248 Chees'man June 23, 1925 1,605,581 Heath 1 Nov. 2, 1926 2,186,891 Wilson Jan. 9, 1940 2,388,221 Smith Oct, 30,1945 2,466,195 Anderson et al. Apr. 5, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 1 Country Date 17,279 Great Britain 1904 18,373 Great Britain 1902 438,971

Germany Dec. 31, 1926 

